Isaac Wells, 21 year old writer

Pen scratched on paper, not writing sentences but just words, meaningless and unconnected, as Isaac's other hand clicked through the website. “I don't know, Jade, this is kinda weird…” He said into the phone balanced expertly between his shoulder and cheek. “Just inviting a stranger into my home? And I don't even get to know who they are before I get paired up?”

The tinny voice of his only friend and editor, Jade Summers, sighed. “Are we not looking at the same thing?! Okay, let’s go over this again.”

“...okay.”

“You have a dedicated, clean living space that can fit one or more other persons.”

Isaac stopped his scribbling and his clicking, leaning back in his desk chair and holding the cellphone properly. He swiveled in his seat, looking at the house around him. It was a big house, three bed two bath, paid for entirely by his dad, who was the definition of “fuck-you money.” Isaac didn't even pay the utilities- just the internet and anything else he decided he could spare the money on.

“Yes, but-”

Jade sighed, frustrated, and Isaac heard the facepalm through the phone. “You qualify for the program, Isaac! You just have to pass the inspection, have the space, and AWIO will match you with the perfect monster girl, all for yourself!” She groaned again. “It is a free friend, partner, hell, just a fuckbuddy!”

“You know me, I’m the most antisocial fucker you’ve ever met!” Isaac picked up his pen and stared down at the chicken-scratch nonsense on the paper. The pen tumbled and rolled between his fingers. “I can barely talk to clients, who pay me. I am inept. I will make a fool of myself.”

“Isaac!” Jade shouted. “Why are you being so stubborn?!”

“Because I’m just not sure This is… weird. Why are they doing this, anyway?”

“Because the initiative is all about helping to make these ladies feel welcome amidst a storm of racism and prejudice. As said on the website, ‘we want to make these travelers feel at home in a new place.’”

Isaac skimmed the form again. “How do I know that they won't stick me with someone that's super uncooperative, or rude?”

“They do detailed analysis to match sponsors to girls, it's all on the page we have been reading together for the past HOUR, Isaac.”

“I don't know…”

“Sign the damn papers, Isaac. You're a lonely sonuvabitch, and you could use the company.”

Isaac, who had been staring at a complete form for about twenty minutes, hovered his mouse over the submit button.

“You are going to have the time of your life, slowly getting surrounded by pretty girls.”

“I feel like your comments are becoming increasingly more mean-spirited, my friend.”

“And you're being a loser. Do it!” Jade paused. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. “It’ll be good for you.”

“If this goes poorly, you owe me a beer.”

“If it goes well, you owe me a joint.”

“Deal.”

“Deal.”

Isaac submitted the form and closed the window.

“Now we wait.”

“Godspeed, Wells.”

Isaac's phone went silent, and he set it down, cracked his knuckles, and started working again. He kept stopping, though, finding his mind wandering. What kind of monster girl did he want? Did he really care? Would any potential candidates even like him? Would he find himself hesitant when he finally got there?

He shook his head. Too early to really worry about any of that, now. He pushed it from his mind and got back to work.

***

The knock on the door two days later startled him out of his reverie. He hit a quick undo to reverse his startled copy-paste and tried to figure out why someone might be at his door.

“Hey, I'm from the AWIO!” Came a muffled voice through the door.

He'd known that a rep was coming by, but he hadn't known it was today. He swept up three empty cans from his desk, all soda thank God, tossed them into the bin near his workstation, then checked the room. It wasn't squeaky clean, but it wasn't dirty either. It would do.

They knocked on the door again so he fixed his hair, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, tucked his glasses back on his face, and opened the front door. Standing just outside, dressed sharp with a clipboard in hand, was a man a few years older than Isaac. His hair was long and brown, accompanied by a dark beard.

“Hey! Isaac Wells, right?” The man said, giving a warm grin.

“That's me.”

“Great! I'm Tyler Jones, your AWIO rep, just here to do final checks before we set up your appointment.” Tyler held out a hand.

Isaac shook it. “You guys move fast.”

“Sometimes we do. Mind if I come in?”

“Of course, do as you will.” Isaac stepped aside, gesturing for Tyler to enter.

Tyler ducked his head a bit and stepped in, instantly taking in the room and writing things down. “That your workstation over there, in the living room?”

“Yessir. That a problem?”

“Nope, your file says you work from home.” Tyler consulted the clipboard, smiled a bit, scribbled something down. “That’s great, actually.”

Isaac followed Tyler around, answering small questions, and soon enough Tyler had canvassed the entire house and they were back at the door.

“This all looks great!” Tyler said, reading over his notes. “To be honest, most applicants don't often have such… quality households.”

“Yeah, my dad pays for most of the house- it's a whole thing.”

“Not just the size of the house, this place is pretty clean. Big props.” Tyler flipped to the last few pages of his clipboard. “Now, spoiler warning, but your home is pretty well-suited to some of the more… shall we say, active monster girls. We're talking harpies, demons, minotaurs, mermaids, wolf girls, those kinds. Those sound good to you?”

“Hey, if I was picky I would have filled out that box, right?” Isaac laughed a bit, but his mind was elsewhere, starting to mull over his options. He wasn't terribly active. He wasn't sedentary by any means, he often went swimming in the small pool in the backyard, but hopefully he wouldn't get paired with someone who would want him to be too active…

“True, true. Alright, just a few more things. Firstly, are you aware of the high libido of monster girls?”

Isaac blushed a bit. “Yes.”

“Secondly, you should be prepared for sexual talk and advances. They aren’t shy about such things. Is that okay?”

“Yep.”

“Great. Now, last thing: Are you prepared to care for, love, and protect any monster girls we put into your care?”

At that, Isaac nodded firmly. “Yes. Undoubtedly.”

Tyler grinned. “Awesome. Well, I'll go ahead and leave you alone, and you'll hear back soon if we need you to come in.”

“Thanks, sounds good.”

Tyler headed out, leaving Isaac alone with his thoughts.

Then his phone rang. The caller ID read ‘that cool bitch,’ so he answered it.

“Yes, Jade?”